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Stupid things you only did once....
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LeviMan2001
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PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2012 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pulling plug wires to find a misfire on an MSD ignition system... Even with a leather glove it shocked me.
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eashc
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Went to start my 78 Cutlass Supreme, I was between bugs at the time. And using drugs, saw a spark from under the dash and from then on car wouldn't start. Installed new pick up coil, nothing. Figured it was the timing chain, so in goes a new one. Still won't start. After draining and charging the battery from cranking over the next few days and much advice from everyone. Still nada. Someone did tell me to rebuild the carb once I get it running, cuz it don't seem to be pumping to well. Then it hit me a day later, 'not pumpin to well....' got a gallon of gas, primed the carb, and bingo. The whole time I had no gas. Never said nothing to the boys tell months later.
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jwold
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:40 am    Post subject: fishtailing Reply with quote

So last Friday I had to work late, was on my way home in my 70 bug and taking the 35 mph cloverleaf exit off the highway. It had been raining, there was no traffic, and I've felt a little bit of fishtailing in the past on the wet road so I always take that exit at 35mph or less religously.

Well, tonight, there was no one on the road, and traffic on the highway from the other direction is seperated by a 3' concrete divider.

I felt a little ornery and I decided I'd take that curve a little faster than I usually do, maybe have a little fun with a little fishtail and then continue on home. Well, I was most of the way into the curve and even gave it a little gas as the curve goes up an incline, I was going maybe 45. I did indeed start fishtailing as my backend started slipping to the left. So I did what I thought I was supposed to do and turned my wheel to the left into the spin. Well, to my surprise, it didn't alter my spin at all, but I went a full 360+ and ended up facing the wrong direction, engine stalled and I almost rolled my rear end into the divider!

No damage fortunately except for my sanity! I was surprised how suddenly I whipped around when I thought I would be able to control whatever mild amount of fishtailing I would experience. For a while I thought I had corrected the spin and thought that I had cpun counter-slockwise after the correction but have since thought that that wouldn't be possible.

I've been taking that exit very carefully since...won't do that again!
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LeviMan2001
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:25 pm    Post subject: Re: fishtailing Reply with quote

jwold wrote:
So last Friday I had to work late, was on my way home in my 70 bug and taking the 35 mph cloverleaf exit off the highway. It had been raining, there was no traffic, and I've felt a little bit of fishtailing in the past on the wet road so I always take that exit at 35mph or less religously.

Well, tonight, there was no one on the road, and traffic on the highway from the other direction is seperated by a 3' concrete divider.

I felt a little ornery and I decided I'd take that curve a little faster than I usually do, maybe have a little fun with a little fishtail and then continue on home. Well, I was most of the way into the curve and even gave it a little gas as the curve goes up an incline, I was going maybe 45. I did indeed start fishtailing as my backend started slipping to the left. So I did what I thought I was supposed to do and turned my wheel to the left into the spin. Well, to my surprise, it didn't alter my spin at all, but I went a full 360+ and ended up facing the wrong direction, engine stalled and I almost rolled my rear end into the divider!

No damage fortunately except for my sanity! I was surprised how suddenly I whipped around when I thought I would be able to control whatever mild amount of fishtailing I would experience. For a while I thought I had corrected the spin and thought that I had cpun counter-slockwise after the correction but have since thought that that wouldn't be possible.

I've been taking that exit very carefully since...won't do that again!


You've experienced the rear-engine snap oversteer. Did you let off the throttle right as you went into the spin?
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jwold
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most likely. I haven't heard of that phrase before...any further details?
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Mike Fisher
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was cutting out a couple inner fenders and a rear deck yesterday. I have been lucky with the hornets, but got stung on my upper lip and it swelled up triple size for 24 hours! I went back out this morning and killed them all with OFF & WD40. I'm gonna start killing them before I start cutting from now on! :2gunfire:
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tacochris
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Im honestly ashamed I even did this.....Had a weird bumping noise coming from the outside back of my 59 bug...but decided would attack it at a later date...well I took the wheels off to change them and noticed there was play in my rear wheel.....God dang castle nut sheared the cotter pin off and was working its way off...I was close to losing a wheel because of my impatience to stop and look and putting the old rusty cotterpin back in instead of buying a new one. Luckily no damage was done, new cotter pins on both sides, drum torqued down and driving now with no noise.
Lesson kids: Do it right the first time, every time...no exceptions.
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Jon65
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Accidently tried to crank my '65 bug while in gear and not pressing the clutch. Almost ran through my grandfather's garage door. Thankfully I jumped into the driver seat and stopped the car before it hit.
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blacktopbeatnik
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While timing an engine on the bench I got to close to the alternator belt. It grabbed my hair and pulled it in to the pulley, I lost a 4 inch square patch of 6 inch long hair as it smashed my head into the raised edge on the alternator. I was given 21 stitches and have a large scar now. Never again!
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williamM
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:25 am    Post subject: stupid mistakes- stories from the dealer Reply with quote

The high speed lads of flat rate were doing a brake job on an 64 beetle only to find out the parts dept was out of brake parts. SO- just threw the wheel and drums on/ put the bits in the back seat and drove it out to the parking lot stopping on compression. Week later- back in the shop and ya they forgot NO BRAKES- with the emergency brake button bouncing off the dash board and feet out the door- it came to a stop inches from the back wall.

But no body gave em a hard time bout that- after about a year.
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Trayle D. the real oggfk
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Once when I was young and wasnt a coffee drinking I drank hot coffee with a strawl...

ONCE, I road my skateboard through a parking lot with my hands in my pocket... NEVER DO THAT AGAIN...
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66buggydude
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

done things along those line. ohhh memories
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Randall
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The story I'm including in quotes didn't happen to me but is one I read in an auto parts newsletter.

"In 1984, a friend and I each had Volkswagen Super Beetles. Hers was a 1973; mine, a 1971. Neither was anything to write home about as both were our first cars and reflected what we were able to afford (not much). Among the rust issues that each car had developed in the salty, snowy Northeast were the heat exchangers and rocker panel duct work. No surprises there. My friend came up with an ingenious idea to solve her no-heat problem: she wanted to install an outlet/lighter under the dash to power an electric heater blower for the front seat passengers. Brilliant!

I volunteered to help with the installation. We selected a nice spot under the dash out of the way of people's feet, drilled a hole and mounted the outlet with a sheet metal screw. We did a little routing of the wires and, lo and behold, she had a heated Volkswagen bug. A couple of years later (yes, her car continued to run), she had a fuel system problem. This time, she took her car to a real repair shop, and they started replacing fuel lines and inspecting other parts of the fuel system. When it came time to take the gas tank out (remember that the engine was in the back of the car and the trunk in the front), they opened the hood but just could not get the tank out.

It turned out that the hole we had drilled went right into the gas tank, and the lowly screw that we used to mount the electrical outlet was keeping its grip on the tank! Oh, and this screw also served as the ground for the circuit, running the power right through the tank. Whoops! Guess we got lucky!

Dave in Connecticut"


The link below that printed this story changes monthly.
http://www.rockauto.com/Newsletter/index.html
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sleepywiesel
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 4:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tacochris wrote:
Im honestly ashamed I even did this.....Had a weird bumping noise coming from the outside back of my 59 bug...but decided would attack it at a later date...well I took the wheels off to change them and noticed there was play in my rear wheel.....God dang castle nut sheared the cotter pin off and was working its way off...I was close to losing a wheel because of my impatience to stop and look and putting the old rusty cotterpin back in instead of buying a new one. Luckily no damage was done, new cotter pins on both sides, drum torqued down and driving now with no noise.
Lesson kids: Do it right the first time, every time...no exceptions.


okay, I have to top this Very Happy
I restored my '59 beelte. The restauration took 5 years. Through these 5 years I had to seal the rear axle 5 times without driving the car for one mile. After each year the axle was leaking oil into the brake drum again. I was really pissed!
I have to say that the cars in germany has to be checked every two years by an associaton named TUV. They check the safety of the cars. You can stay at home when you have oil in the brake drums Rolling Eyes
After 24 years of sitting the car had to come through this safety test to get a license for it.
So I decided to tighten the brake drums not too hard to have the chance to check the rear brakes before driving to the TUV station. To have a "sign" that the centernuts are not thightened, I stuck the cotter pin in without bending it. After a few other challenges (get the engine running, brakes working etc...) I decided to take a litte testdrive. Everying worked fine. I popped the hubcaps onto the rims (the TUV reqires hubcaps) and went to the TUV shop. I drove on the german autobahn at 60mph or so, everything was fine. The TUV was done at the second try (my light switch broke while the TUV guy was checking the lights Rolling Eyes ). I ordered the license plates, mounted them.
My fahter was very glad about that too. To end the day in a ride with our "new" beetle we both took a ride though our town. Nobody else was on the road. My father was driving. we were at 30mph as we heared a loud "boom" and then a grinding noise. My fahter hit the brakes, but no pressure at all. With the emergency brake at one wheel we came to 0mph. I had forgotten to thighten the center nut. The wheel laid in the wheel well and damaged the fender- a small dent. The drive shaft hit the inner side of the rim- some scratches in the paint. The inner brake plate hit the ground and grinded on the ground what caused a dent in the plate. That was all. I don't want to know what had happened at 60mph on the autobahn Sad
We had no bumping noise or anything else.
If someone would have told me this story before I would have said "How stupid can a single person be??" So, now you see how stupid one person can be. Confused
After I sealed the axle for a sixth time and pushed the dents out of the fender and brake plate everything is okay again.
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tacochris
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

stupid thing I only did once:

Getting involved in a debate in a "lowered VS stock height" thread. Screw that.......
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ebenasky
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 6:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I was in high school I drove my bug home from the drive in theater. After I parked, I noticed my pea shooters were bent up. I actually reached down with both hands to adjust them. Lucky for me that I must of had a little moisture on my hands. They slide right off those VERY hot pipes. I didn't even burn myself. Needless to say that I never did that again.
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aaronr25
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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2013 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sold my 65 Ghia Brick wall
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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2013 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My buddy's and I bought an old Karmann Ghia out of a barn one night. We were about 10 miles from home via a two lane state highway. Hooked the old car to a full sized Chevy pickup with a typical Type 1 tow bar...and hauled ass toward home. Two of us road **IN** the Ghia!!! Black dark, 90 mph...down the highway we went. It was the wildest thing I've ever done. Makes me cringe to this day. Stupid crazy thing to do...
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tacochris
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PostPosted: Mon May 13, 2013 11:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rostwagen wrote:
My buddy's and I bought an old Karmann Ghia out of a barn one night. We were about 10 miles from home via a two lane state highway. Hooked the old car to a full sized Chevy pickup with a typical Type 1 tow bar...and hauled ass toward home. Two of us road **IN** the Ghia!!! Black dark, 90 mph...down the highway we went. It was the wildest thing I've ever done. Makes me cringe to this day. Stupid crazy thing to do...

Woh! I couldnt imagine riding in a "barn find" at 90mph at night with no lights and no control over where the car goes. Not to mention trusting everything under the car was tightened and functioning as it should.......yeesh. hell the amount of insects, snakes etc Ive found in my cars before I couldnt imagine being trapped in there with no place to bail!
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"Nothing will ever be as nice as original paint, no matter how much is or isnt left"

"Those that confuse hoodride with the OG paint movement definitely have their wires crossed. Its all about preservation, pulling out its true potential while hoodride is about purposely making something look like a piece of shit." -SKIM
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GIZ210694
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PostPosted: Thu May 16, 2013 12:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was summer,mid afternoon ,I'm pulled over enjoying the day,so much so I decide to change a c.v.boot,so I drop the shaft and both c.v."s,then I decide to strip entirely the cv joint ,so I did, I did not need too , I thought I would just take a look ,it was a fine cv joint ,only thing ,I re assembled it wrongly so it locked up solid ! so a 10kms walk & $40 for a new cv >won" do that again !
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